Product Manager, Exactaform
Neil McKinnell brings more than 40 years in the cutting-tool industry to Exactaform, with a career spanning apprentice-trained engineering, technical sales, and product and application management at some of the biggest names in metalcutting. A specialist in process improvement and high-performance machining, he focuses on turning tooling into measurable production gains for aerospace and automotive manufacturers.
As Product Manager at Exactaform, Neil draws on over four decades in cutting tools to help customers get more from their tooling. His focus is process improvement and optimisation, finding the gains that make a real difference on the shop floor.
Neil started with an engineering apprenticeship (1978 to 1983) and holds an HNC in Mechanical and Production Engineering. His career has taken him through cutting-tool sales with Iscar and Kennametal, application engineering and national sales programme management at Kennametal Inc, UK sales management at Ceramtec, and product and project roles at Walter GB, including eight years as Aerospace Business Development Manager, before joining Exactaform as Product Manager.
Process improvement and optimisation, high-performance drilling, and aerospace and automotive machining. Neil's hands-on experience spans roughly 41 years with carbide and 20 years with PCD tooling.
Neil led the implementation of a full tooling suite into the greenfield manufacturing facility of a renowned automotive company. His applications experience includes automotive cast iron and aluminium brake caliper components, aluminium engine block and cylinder head machining, and aerospace engine and structural parts. He has also delivered training widely, presenting "High Performance Drilling" at IMTS in the USA and acting as a product trainer for Kennametal University and Walter GB, as well as teaching Fundamentals of Metalcutting to companies nationally.
"I get the most from creating solutions and information that can be passed on to others and make them better."